Friends No Matter What, Right?
by Hungergames3
Summary: Chloe has been friends with Rose, Albus and Scorpius since day one and knows they would do anything for each other. Can they survive their final years at Hogwarts with all these new responsibilities and being dragged in different directions? And if they can, will James mess it all up?
1. The Beginning

**I do not own Harry Potter, all original character belong to JK Rowling.**

Up until this point Chloe had been looking forward to going to Hogwarts. Despite it being on the other side of the world and not knowing another soul who would be in attendance she had been eager to start her magical education at the school which both her parents had attended. However, it was when staring down the brick wall between platforms nine and ten that she became significantly less eager to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

On either side of the tall eleven year old stood a man and a woman who were both in their early-forties with sun tanned skin and quite muscular bodies. "I've changed my mind, can we go home?" She asked in her light, Australian accent as she looked to her mother, then her father.

The two adults laughed, "It's going to be okay," assured her mother, wrapping a comforting arm around the child's shoulders, "you'll love it once you get there, I promise." Her father nodded to put her at ease. He then ran into the barrier as if to prove that there was no harm to come from the brick wall, he disappeared without a sound and Chloe felt slightly reassured. Chloe, with a slight push from her mother , followed.

Having safely reached the other side Chloe was amazed by the scarlet train that stood before her, with carriages reaching further down the platform then she could see. "This is nine and three-quarters," her father explained in a very obvious manner as he guided her through the masses of school children and their parents, "now when you get there you'll get on some boats with some other first years- don't be afraid Hagrid will take care of you- and then you'll go up to be sorted." They stopped and he bent down so he was at eye level with her, "We don't care what house you get sorted into as long as you're happy. Okay?" His accent while not completely Australian did have a slight tinge to it, not making it the strong British accent it had been twenty years ago, long before Chloe had been born.

She had heard plenty of stories -once her parents had broken the news of their move to England- about Hogwarts. It had been where both her parents had gone 'pre-Australia' as they had called it. They had started dating in the two months before they graduated from Hogwarts, her mother had been in Slytherin and her father in Gryffindor a dating combination they insisted had been very odd at the time.

They had moved to Australia immediately after graduating, following their mutual dream of becoming beaters for the Australian Quidditch team, the Woollongong Warriors. Chloe never truly understood why they so strongly wanted to live across the world, away from their parents for a Quidditch team but they had helped the team carry the Australian league title for years through both their talented playing, and in later life, coaching.

With an easy motion her mother lifted her trunk onto the train. Leaning into a hug she was knocked slightly askew by a boy with black hair running down the platform muttering, "Teddy and Victorie" under his breath. Her father enveloped her in a soft but firm hug wishing her the best of luck for her first year. "What if I make no friends?" Chloe whispered into her mother's ear as she hugged her tightly.

Rubbing her hands in a soothing circular motion Tatiana reassured her daughter, "You'll make plenty of friends- it'll be fine sweetheart."

"What if-"

Chloe's mother pulled out of the hug, looking her daughter firmly in the eyes, "No more _what ifs, _okay?" The young girl nodded her head silently. Then with a nervous expression and with her new wand in her back pocket Chloe Yancy boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Chloe eventually found a compartment she could sit in towards the back of the train. It was in the second to last carriage and completely empty. She timidly sat down, despite having grown up around magic the feeling of being in a foreign country, and now alone, made her afraid that something was going to jump out of nowhere. Looking out at the rolling hills of countryside Chloe began to imagine what Hogwarts would look like. She had seen one image of the magical school in Australia, it was quite modern as the country was so young, but she knew Hogwarts was far older.

"Uh can I sit in here?" The voice of timid young boy dragged Chloe away from the window.

"Yeah of course." She answered immediately with a nervous smile. Smiling back the eleven year old dragged his things into the carriage. Chloe took his moment of distraction to take a good look at him he had blonde-white hair and a pointed nose, he was only slightly shorter than Chloe and appeared to be just as anxious as her.

After a few moments he sat across from her with sigh, "I'm so thankful you let me sit here I don't think there's any more compartments left."

"It's no problem." She replied with a smile, "My name's Chloe."

The boy smiled back, "Scorpius. May I ask where you're from?" Chloe gave him a quizzical look. "Because of your accent." He explained.

"Oh!" Her eyes widened, funnily enough Chloe often forgot she _didn't_ have a British accent like her parents, "I'm from Australia. I grew up there, my parents played for the Woollongong Warriors over there."

Scorpius's eyes widened, "You're parents are _Qudditch players_? That's so cool!"

Chloe laughed, "Yeah they-" She began to explain but was cut off by the sound of the compartment door opening again. Another two eleven year olds stood in the doorway, a girl with wild red, curly hair and a boy with messy black hair. For a second Chloe thought maybe he was the boy who had knocked her on the platform but soon came to the conclusion he wasn't.

"May we join you? All the others are full." The girl asked, politely.

"Of course!" Chloe answered scooting down the bench seat to give the two more room to sit down and then motioned to herself and Scorpius, "I'm Chloe and this is Scorpius."

"Pleasure." The red head stuck out her hand, "I'm Rose."

Chloe happily shook her hand and turned to the other boy, "I'm Al." He said with a polite smile sitting next to Scorpius.

"Potter?" Scorpius asked with a raise of his blonde eyebrows.

The other boy nodded bashfully, "Yeah."

The words stumbled out of Chloe's mouth, "Like Ginny Potter's son? That's awesome."

Al turned to her smirking ever so slightly, "Not the parent people usually ask about, but yeah."

"My parents are Quidditch players," Chloe supplied, "we talk a lot about Quidditch in my house."

Rose smiled next to her, "Oh we do to, what team do your parents play for?"

Turning her head Chloe smiled broadly, happy to have something simple to talk about, "They played for the Woollongong Warriors in Australia, but they've come back to England now. Mum's going to coach the Chudley Cannons." Scorpius gave her a funny look, "She wanted a challenge apparently." Chloe laughed at the teams' history.

Rose laughed with her, "My dad loves the Cannons. He's so weird."

"Give Uncle Ron a break Rose." Al defended, "The team has potential."

"You two are related?" Chloe asked.

Rose nodded while Al explained, "Yeah. Rose's dad is my mum's brother."

"My dad told me to stay away from you guys." Scorpius interrupted. The young boy had blurted it out, without much thought and Chloe got the feeling he strongly regretted saying it.

Laughing again Rose said, "So did my dad! He told me to try and beat you in every exam I could." Scorpius's shoulders visibly relaxed as she spoke, "I don't think it's a major issue though. We're not out parent's right?" Scorpius nodded quickly, "We can be friends with who we want at Hogwarts."

After a few moments Al asked, "So what houses do you guys think you'll be in?"

"Slytherin." Scorpius answered quickly, "But not because of my parents, I've been told I'm pretty ambitious and cunning so…"

"I think I'd want to be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," Rose said, taking the attention off Scorpius, "but I don't mind."

Al answered his own question next, "I think I'd want to be in Gryffindor just to avoid James's wrath."

"Who's James?" Chloe asked.

"My brother. He's starting his third year at the moment and is a bit of a prick at times." Al rolled his eyes thinking of his brother's antics. "What house do you think you'll be in Chloe?"

"I don't really know what houses there are, let alone the traits of each." She shrugged, "My dad was in Gryffindor and my mum was in Slytherin, so probably one of those."

"What year did they graduate? Our parents probably knew each other if they played Quidditch." Al asked.

Chloe turned to him, "93'. But my dad didn't play for the Gryffindor team. I don't think he liked Oliver Wood too much." Al nodded his head understandingly; Wood could be quite overwhelming at times.

The four children fell into a comfortable conversation until they were almost at Hogsmede station, "We should all stay friends, no matter what houses we get sorted into." Scorpius said as the laughter from a game of exploding snap died down. Rose and Albus nodded while Chloe smiled, "I'd like that."

The four children stumbled into a rickety wooden boat. "What if it tips into the lake?" Chloe asked anxiously.

"Then it falls into the lake," Rose laughed, "it's unlikely that'll happen though."

Chloe took in a deep breath and stayed as still as possibly. She had been so distracted by the idea of the boat tipping over she almost missed Hogwarts. The castle stood proud atop a hill, the stars in the sky twinkling behind it, it took her breath away, "It's amazing."

"So cool." Whispered Al next to her.

Together they walked at the front of the group of first years entering the great hall. Chloe and Scorpius marvelled at the ceiling, eyes wide in fascination as Al waved at his family and Rose theorised how they made the ceiling the way it was.

"Remember, no matter our houses, we're still friends right?" Rose whispered to them as they came to a stop.

"Well I would hope so Rosie." Al said jokingly to his cousin.

The red head rolled her eyes in return, "I meant _all _of us." Scorpius and Chloe nodded their heads, keeping quiet as the Sorting Hat began speaking.

The first of the four to be sorted was Scorpius, "Malfoy, Scorpius." Professor McGonagall said loudly. Everyone in the Great Hall went silent at the sound of the young boy's name, despite this he walked confidently up to the stool and, after a few moments, the Sorting Hat spoke, "Slytherin!" Chloe heard someone behind her mutter "No surprises there" and promptly turned around to glare at them.

Next was Al, the hat had barely touched his black, messy hair before shouting, "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor's cheered. Rose turned to Chloe, whispering "Do you think it just did that because he's a Wotter?" Chloe gave her a funny look, "Someone who's a Weasley or a Potter." Rose explained.

"I think you'll end up in the house you're supposed to be in." Chloe smiled calmingly. Rose nodded anxiously back before the sound of her own name drew her up to the stool. Chloe gave her a reassuring thumbs up and after exactly 67 seconds the Hat yelled, "Ravenclaw!" A cheer came up from the Ravenclaw table and Rose happily skipped down to her seat.

Chloe was left standing alone and was second to last to be sorted. "Yancy, Chloe." She smiled at the last person before walking up, trying to ignore the idea of everyone looking at her. "_Yancy. I sorted your dad into Gryffindor years ago." _The Sorting Hat spoke into Chloe's ear. "_You don't belong there though, do you? Too many "What if's" stopping you from doing things. No no no no. Not Gryffindor. Nor Ravenclaw, you have no thirst for knowledge. So, it's either Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Two very different houses, but also two very similar houses. Perhaps their history is different. One with more bad eggs than the other. You'd fit nicely in either I think. Your ambitious enough to go to Slytherin, determined too, the question is would you do anything for what you want?" _"I don't know." Chloe answered, anxiously. "_Hmmmm. You could go to Hufflepuff. Hard workers they are. They'll work themselves to death to get what they want. They're dedicated too… and patient. I'm thinking Hufflepu- No. You're a very clever young lady. So Slyther- NO. You value kindness too much. _The Sorting Hat then stayed quiet for a long time before finally shouting, "Hufflepuff!" A cheer came from the Hufflepuff table as Chloe jumped off the stool and walked down to her seat.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff." The girl sitting next to her smiled kindly. "I'm Jess."

Chloe vaguely remembered her name from earlier in the sorting. From a table over she heard another student talking loudly about a hat stall.

"What's a hat stall?" Chloe asked her fellow Hufflepuffs as the last student walked up to be sorted.

A boy across from her with a thick Irish accent answered, "When the sorting hat takes more than five minutes to make a decision." He smiled, "You were up there for at least six. What other house did it want to put you in? Looked like it was really struggling."

Jess wrapped an arm around Chloe, "It doesn't matter she's 'Puff now, that's all that matters."

The friendly Hufflepuff prefect turned to the group of twelve first years, a serious look in his eyes, "You're not to tell _anyone _about where our common rooms are, or how to get in. It's been a well-kept secret for hundreds of years now."

They all nodded noticing the seriousness in his previously joking eyes before entering the common room. It was cosy and warm, making Chloe think of hot brownies on a cool Sydney night. Chloe soon realised the other first year girls had started walking towards a large, round, wooden door and followed them quickly.

"I can't believe we're at Hogwarts!" yelled a short, excited girl with blonde hair as she threw herself onto one of the six beds. Windows lined the tops of the walls all around the large room, showing a variety of different fields, something which was impossible by muggle standards. The six, four poster beds all looked soft and comfy with warm yellow and black blankets. On either side of each bed was a bedside table and a chest of draws. Chloe found her trunk near a bed at the end of the room- furthest from the both the small bathroom the girls shared and the door out to the common room. Jess, the girl she had met while eating dinner, was on the bed next to hers jumping up and down her brown, wavy hair flying around her face. "We better introduce ourselves to each other," she said to other five as she bounced dangerously close to the ceiling, "since we'll be sharing a room for seven years."

The short, excited girl spoke up, "Yeah! Everyone come sit on the floor!" She sat down in the space between beds three and four. Everyone else sat with her, including Jess who looked disappointed at the idea of having to sit still.

"I'm Em," said the short, excited girl, "I have two older, twin brothers in their sixth year, they're in Hufflepuff as well, my favourite colour's orange and I'm really excited to be starting school."

The girl to her right smiled brightly. She had dark skin and even darker hair, "I'm Tate, I have an older sister in her fourth year in Ravenclaw as well as a younger brother and sister who'll start Hogwarts in a couple years and I want to be a healer more than anything else in the world."

Chloe was impressed that Tate already knew what she wanted to do after Hogwarts, then realised it was her turn to talk, "I'm Chloe, I'm an only child and I'm obsessed with Quidditch."

"What position is your favourite?" asked a petite brunette across the small circle.

"Both my parents are beaters," Chloe smiled, "so that's my favourite."

Jess introduced herself, explaining she was the youngest of three, but both her older siblings had long left Hogwarts. Then an Asian girl introduced herself as Yasmin, explained she was had a younger brother and was very surprised to be placed in Hufflepuff. Finally the petite brunette introduced herself as Danni, she had a sister who was in her third year and in Gryffindor.

The excitement soon wound down for all the girls and they collectively decided they were going to bed. Chloe fell asleep eager to wake up and ask Rose, Scorpius and Al what their respective houses where like.

"That's bullocks, Scorp." Rose said, planting her hands on her hips.

He shook his hands in front of her, "I'm dead serious Rose."

"Blimey you too can fight forever, can't you?" Chloe laughed along with Al.

"I'm telling you Rose, there are vampires in the forest." Scorpius grew frustrated.

The four students were sitting under a tree on a rare sunny December morning. They had managed to grow close over the past three months but the arguments between Rose and Scorpius seemed to become more ridiculous every day. They argued about things such as whether pumpkin juice should be drunk before or after eating mashed potatoes, in a friendly manner of course, but it often left Al and Chloe laughing on the sidelines at their antics.

"There are no vampires in there!" Rose yelled, pointing at the forest with a slight smile.

Chloe shook her head, her and Al smirking at the two.

"How many books do you think are in here?" Rose asked, lifting her head from the potions essay that was due the following day.

Chloe shrugged, looking around and wondering the same thing.

Rose stood, "I'm going to have a look around."

"You're just procrastinating." Albus pointed out.

Scorpius stood, "Well I'm sick of Transfiguration so I'll come for a walk too." The two of them wondered behind a set of bookcases, scanning the shelves.

Chloe turned her head back towards her essay trying desperately to understand what Rose had made sound easy when she explained earlier. Meanwhile Al began to doodle small pictures around the edges of his parchment. "I drew you." He said with a smirk, lifting the paper and revealing a small stick figure with straight hair and a round head. Chloe raised a singular eyebrow with a small smile on her face.

"Hey Albus- Al- Buddy." Chloe turned around to see an older boy walking towards them He had the same messy black hair as Al but he was taller, tanner and had more muscle on him.

Al sighed, "What do you want James?"

"What? Can't I, as your older brother, come and check up on you, my little brother, Albus Severus Potter." He smirked sitting in the space Rose had been in earlier.

"You're name is Albus Severus?" Chloe asked, amused.

Al put his head in his hands, "Yes. And this is my prat of an older brother, James."

James turned smiling at Chloe politely before turning back to his little brother. "So I was talking to Fred-"

"Here's the real reason he came." Al said rolling his eyes and smirking at Chloe.

"And," James continued, "he was telling me that you've made friends with a Slytherin and an Australian 'Puff." He motioned towards Chloe.

"James it's been six months since we started school, are you that blind that you only just noticed?" Al was shaking his head.

James shrugged, "Just checking you're not giving out Quidditch secrets and the sorts."

"You know Quidditch secrets and didn't tell me?" Chloe almost yelled, shocked. She was quickly shushed by Madam Pince. "Seriously Al?"

James turned back to her, then turned back to Al, "You can tell her. No one'll believe a word she says."

"Excuse you?" Chloe asked shocked at the rudeness of the older boy.

He turned back to her again, seemingly annoyed that she was interrupting what he was trying to tell Albus, "Well look at you, you've got no-where near enough muscle mass to be a Quidditch player, even if you're only eleven-"

"I'm tweleve."

"- proving my point even more. You don't look like the Quidditch type. You're body looks like it could break in a moment."

"I'll have you know I've grown up playing Quidditch." Chloe snapped, "Since I could walk I've been on a broom and I'm quite good."

James scoffed, "At best I'd believe you're a seeker."

Chloe was ready to scream, "I'm a beater you dickhead."

Madam Pince was walking swiftly towards them, "Guys just drop it." Al whispered desperately, not wanting his best friend nor his brother to get in trouble.

"Yeah right, you'd be a horrid beater. You're too frail. It's just not in your genes, love." James continued in a condescending manner.

"Are you serious?" Chloe almost screamed as Madam Pince began telling them to leave, "You're a real idiot you know? My parents are Tatiana and John Yancy you dipshit!"

Before James could continue they were cut off by Madam Pince, "Both of you! Detention!"

Rose and Chloe sat on the steps of the entrance hall, waiting for the boys. "I can't believe our first year's over already." Chloe said with a slight smile on her face.

"I know," Rose smiled back, "we'll be done before we know it."

Someone laughed behind them, "I wouldn't count on that Rose." James Potter swaggered up to the two, closely followed by a dark skinned boy who was taller than James. Then trailing behind, not paying attention but clearly a part of the group, were another blonde boy, perhaps a year older than James as well as two girls, one even older than the blonde boy but the other Chloe guessed was James's age. The group looked ready to cause trouble, or take over the world, at a moment's notice.

"Have you seen Al, James?" Rose asked, standing up.

James nodded, "On his way" He walked down the stairs towards the exit, "Hey 'Puff." He said to Chloe. She rolled her eyes and ignored him as he and the rest of the group left. After a while Al and Scorpius arrived and the four first years wondered down the steps, on their way home.

"Make sure you owl me okay?" Rose said, hugging Chloe tightly, then Scorpius. Chloe nodded, hugging Al next, "You can _both_" She made a very pointed look at Scorpius, "come to the Burrow, I'm sure."

"I would love to," Chloe smiled, noticing her parents further down the platform, "Bye guys." She waved and began to walk quickly to her parents, pushing her trolley with her trunk firmly in front of her.

"Chloe!" Her mum yelled running towards her before enveloping her in a tight hug.

Her father was soon hugging her as well, "How'd you go kiddo?"

She beamed at her parents, "I love it."

"Looks like you grew an extra inch while you were away too." Her dad said wrapping an arm around her as her mother took the trolley and they soon began to make their way home.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! If you're going to criticise please make it constructive. The next chapter should be up soon, if you enjoyed it please let me know by reviewing or following the story. **

**xx**


	2. Quidditch is Quidditch

Chapter 2

I do not own Harry Potter, all original characters belong to JK Rowling

Chloe was determined to make the Hufflepuff quidditch team in September. The Hogwarts school year had finished one week ago which gave Chloe nine weeks to become strong enough so that the current captain, Jason Smith, would _have _to put her on the team. Last year she had come close but the matter of the fact was a sixth year boy named Dylan had just been _better _at the tryouts than she had, there was no point in holding that against him but now that the other beater, Molly, had graduated Chloe had another chance and she was determined to make it.

Her aim was to bulk up. She knew how to play quidditch and she could fly better than most, if not all of, the others in her year but she wasn't able to hit the bludger as hard as she needed too. She had grown significantly since her first year, she was tall like her parents had been at her age and showed no sign of stopping, but she was still thin, like a ballerina. Chloe didn't want to be ballerina who looked frail but was able to hold her entire body weight on the tips of her toes, she wanted to look muscly like she was able to hold both herself _and _another person on her pinky finger.

While her parents had been questioning if it was possible for a fourteen year old girl, who was still developing, to grow as much muscle as Chloe wanted in the space of two months they were willing to help out because they were the ones who created the obsession with quidditch within the teenager.

It was hard work, early mornings and protein filled meals but it worked. The changes had gone unnoticed by Chloe and her family, seeing her daily meant they didn't see the large change . However, it did not go unnocited by her peers, friends and essentially all of Hogwarts.

"Al! Rose!" Chloe yelled running up and hugging the cousins from behind. Platform 9 and 3/4's was packed as it was every year on September first.

Al was half a second faster than his cousin was turning around but that half a second made all the difference. "Merlin! Chloe! Did you _join _the cannons over the summer?" Al asked, referencing the team her parents coached. The group of friends hadn't seen each other since the second week of summer holidays, no matter how hard they tried they were all busy whenever the others were free and had ultimately been left with sending only letters to each other for ten weeks.

"You're going to make the quidditch team for sure!" Rose laughed hugging her friend again.

Chloe could feel her cheeks heat up, her dark skin showed no sign of blush but the embarrassment over their reactions was there none the less, "I don't look that different do I?"

At this moment Scorpius Malfoy arrived, from behind "Hey Rose, Al..." he trailed off slightly, "Chloe?" This didn't make Chloe feel any better.

"Hey Scorp." she mumbled turning away looking for her parents as reassurance. They were nowhere in sight, probably talking to the Weasley or Potters or maybe one of their players who had a child starting at Hogwarts this year.

Scorpius was slightly shorter than Chloe but was still capable of making her feel like the group's kid sister. He never intended to do it, Scorpius was a kind boy, but still Chloe was wondering whether she'd gone too far. "You look great, there's no way Dylan will dare keep you off the team this year."

Chloe sighed in relief and looked between the three of them, "You think so?"

The others all nodded eagerly. Scorpius's parents arrived behind him, making polite conversation with the group. Chloe always liked the Malfoys, Astoria especially. While she was well aware of their family's past they had always been kind to Chloe and her friends, even Rose- they now joked about her having an academic rivalry with Scorpius. Astoria commented that Chloe was looking more like her mother than ever, which made the young girl smile widely. She had always looked up to her mother, who was a strong woman playing the sport she loved for years while having the family she wanted, always making the decisions she wanted in an unselfish manner, something Chloe aimed to achieve for herself.

Then with a final hug and goodbye kiss from all their parents, in Chloe's case after extensive searching, the group boarded the Hogwarts train for their fourth year at Hogwarts.

"How was your holidays?" Scorpius asked the group as they searched for somewhere to sit.

Al was looking into windows while Rose answered, "It was good, hectic as usual Potter and Weasley kids everywhere. Hot as hell. We went to Australia with Mum and Dad- their winter is so warm!"

Chloe laughed, "No it's just freezing cold here. Where did you go?"

"We went all down the east coast," Rose thought for a few moments, "Cairns for a few days, Brisbane over night, Sydeny for a week, Canberra for a few days and Melbourne for a week as well. We took a couple day trips to other places in between." She pronounced the names of the cities carefully like she'd worked very hard to avoid calling them _Bris-bane _and _Mel-born _as Chloe had told her in a letter that it was a very stereotypical thing for tourists to mispronounce the names.

"Guys I found one!" Scorpius said from further down the carriage, Chloe and Rose had stopped looking to talk but now picked up their trunks and dragged them towards the open door.

"What about you Scorpius, what did you do over the holidays?" Rose asked as she threw herself onto one of the two seats next to the window.

"Dad took us to Italy for a few weeks which was cool. I had to spend a couple days with my grandparents which sucked." He said, taking off his jumper and sitting close to the door.

"My holidays were great guys thanks for asking." Al smirked sitting across from Rose.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Let me guess you spent a couple weeks at the borrow, a couple more weeks travelling with your parents and the whole time fighting with James."

Al's shoulders slumped ever so slightly realising how predicable his holidays had been. "Yeah."

"James was worse towards the ends of holidays though," Rose defended.

"Why?" Scorpius asked.

Before Rose or Al had the opportunity to open their mouths the boy they had been discussing opened the door and answered for them. "I made Quidditch captain suckers!" He smirked, leaning against the now open door. Taller and with wider shoulders than he had had in June he dwarfed the door frame he stood in, his hair was scruffy with a mind of his own while his eyes were wide and a deep brown. James knew he was attractive and played on it every minute he could.

"What?" Chloe ignored his timing and height and instead focused on the badge gleaming proudly on his robes. The idea that James Sirius Potter the boy with an ego the size of America was now captaining the team made Chloe's blood boil.

"How did he know we were talking about him?" Scorpius asked Al.

"He's hearing is now limited to when people are talking about him, he knows in half a second." Al answered.

"It's incredibly creepy." Rose added.

"Now I'll know when all you forth year 'puff's are talking about me." James smirked towards Chloe.

She rolled her eyes and thought quickly, "The only reason you're captain James," she smiled, "is because Gryffindor's talent is so limited that your horrid flying was the best they could do. Which, as we all know, isn't _that_ good is it?"

"Coming from the girl who didn't even make it on the Hufflepuff team," he paused smirking egotistically once again, "I forgot, what place did they come in last year?" Chloe was fuming at this point, fists clenched, "Oh that's right" James laughed, "last."

Chloe stood swiftly. Despite being tall for her age James was two years older and taller than most so he tended to tower over her, "New year, and for you new captain, trust me when it comes down to the final we will- _I _will beat you to a pulp and you'll be left a failure in your first year as captain."

James's smirk faulted ever so slightly then picked up again, "You have to make the team first 'puff."

He turned and left while Chloe leaned out the door, "Better keep an eye out for bludgers Potter!" She slammed the door after and fell into her seat, closing her eyes.

"You all good Clo?" Rose asked after a few moments placing a comforting hand on her friend's knee.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, "Al I hate your brother."

"Yeah he's kind of a prick sometimes." Al smirked in a way that was so similar to James that Chloe had to look away to avoid getting angrier.

Despite the doubt that James Potter planted in Chloe Yancy's head she made the Hufflepuff Quidditch team without really trying. She walked away from the try outs disappointed she wasn't able to show Jason that she could actually hit the bludger harder and further and despite her newly formed muscle mass was able to fly quicker.

Jason, however, didn't need to see how much better Chloe could do because her basic talent outshone the others trying out so much that they didn't need to do further comparison. Luckily Chloe had a fellow beater who was just as committed as she was. As soon as the official announcement was made about the Hufflepuff Quidditch team Dylan and Chloe began practising together before any of the whole team practices began. It was during one of these practices that Chloe had another run in with James Potter.

"What are you two doing on the pitch we have a practice booked!" James yelled as Dylan and Chloe moved swiftly up the quidditch pitch alternating between hitting well, to practice their own aim, and hitting horrible to practice the other's agility.

The two didn't falter and kept practising, "Not for another 30 minutes Potter!" Dylan shouted back.

"I need to set up for my team!" James was growing frustrated, crossing his arms while watching the two closely.

Chloe didn't miss this and stopped flying immediately, leaving a bludger to go flying into the stands. "What the hell..." Dylan slowed down and turned around to join her before realising, "no way do you get to stay and watch Potter." Flying to the ground Chloe looked around for the bludger. Dylan stayed in the air, "You can have it in twenty but not now."

"Dylan let's just go, I've got a transfiguration essay to write and I'm sure you've got stuff to do to." Chloe said absent-mindedly still looking around the bludger which should have shown up by now. As an afterthought she added, "This has nothing to do with you Potter so don't let your ego inflate any more, I'd like to not be killed by the size of it." She looked up at Dylan, "We've worked every afternoon this week, rest days are important we can't afford to burn out." The silence of the pitch allowed her to hear the sound of the bludger coming from behind her before either of sixth years could warn her, she turned swiftly and caught it with a loud _unf_, she wrestled it to the ground and waited while Dylan flew to grab the box to return it safely in. After a few minutes she had wrestled the bludger back into the box and the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail onto her face.

"Look at that! A couple of weights over the summer and you learnt how to handle a bludger," James smirked but actually looked impressed, "I take it because you two are practising together that you've made the team?"

Rolling her eyes Chloe stood, "My parents are professional beaters, I've been able to at least somewhat handle a bludger since I could ride a broom." She bent over to pick up the box as Dylan grabbed one side and she grabbed the other holding her broom with the opposite hand, "As for me being on the team, you'll just have to wait and see won't you?"

"For people who are supposedly so friendly," James said, turning to watch the two as they headed to put the gear away in the locker room, "you keep a lot of secrets. Your common room and now this?"

"We're not necessarily friendly, just loyal." Dylan shouted over his shoulder as Chloe and he disappeared.

Chloe was nervous, she could hear the roar of the crowd outside the locker room, and was shaking her leg up and down on the bench. She was thankful that her parents weren't able to make, if they had she'd probably be throwing up in the bathrooms. It was her first game on the team and she was determined to prove herself, no one on the team doubted she'd be great- they were all supportive Hufflepuff's of course- but the butterflies in her stomach where growing larger by the minute. Dylan and her had clicked well in practice that didn't mean they'd work well together in a stressful situation like this. She'd heard her mum and dad talk about it before where two beaters just couldn't work together when they were in front of a large audience or had the pressure to win on their shoulders.

Taylor, the team's seeker and only other new player, sat down next to the anxious forth year while grabbing her hand. She was a kind fifth year girl with bright hazel eyes and tanned, Brazilian skin, "You'll do great Chloe, you'll beat those snakes right out of Hogwarts." Chloe smiled back and gave her hand a squeeze but didn't say anything, there were too many '_what if's_' running through her head.

"Alright people, we're a stronger team this year. We can do this." Jason stood, holding his broomstick almost as if it was a sword and he were about to go into battle, "We've trained harder, we have a new seeker," he smiled at Taylor, "and a new beater," he smiled at Chloe, "we won't be making the same mistakes we did last year." Chloe was pretty sure he was referring to his own underestimation of the teams the year before but didn't say anything, "It's going to be hard, it's raining out there and Slytherin's team hasn't changed at all in two years, they all know each other like the back of their own hands." Jason made purposeful eye contact with each player on his team, "But we're Hufflepuff's we work hard and we're loyal, we can do this." He smiled and looked towards the door, "Now let's go play some Quidditch."

Chloe couldn't help but roll her eyes at Jason, it was such a stereotypically Hufflepuff thing to say, _Let's go play some Quiddtich _not "_Let's go kick their butts_" or anything menacing. They all stood, Chloe and Taylor were still holding hands as Jason gave them both a pat on the back and said "You'll do great girls." Every step closer to the exit onto the pitch made Chloe want to throw up more and more. She had let go of Taylor's comforting hand too soon, having to go stand by Dylan as they prepared to be announced. He gave her a quick, silent side hug before they mounted their brooms.

"Welcome everyone to the second match of the season!" Domonique Weasley's voice rang out of the megaphone, "Hope everyone's got a good water-repelling spell on because it's going to be a wet one today! We've got Hufflepuff and Slytherin playing today and boy it's going to be a tough one! Let's get under way with the Slytherin team, my house of course and the best." Chloe could hear the smile on her face, while her team mates mumbled about the seventh year Veela, "First off we have captain, seeker, and my best friend in the world, Tatitana Greengrass."

The realisation that Chloe was playing against a girl who had the same name as her mother and was in the same house her mother had been in made the butterflies in her stomach grow three sizes. Deep down she knew that this wasn't any reason for her nerves to grow, but she learnt long ago that nerves didn't care about reason.

"Then beaters Michael Rolls and Jordan Blake! Next of course is Abigail Swan, Bethany Woodward and Xavier Smith the Slytherin chasers! Last but most certainly not least is the always lovely and talented Keeper, Andrew Moolgal!"

The crowd let up a huge roar as the Slytherin team must've flown on, "This team has been together for years so the 'puffs better be ready for them. Speaking of the little badgers I better introduce them, Captaining the team we have Chaser Jason Dario, his fellow chasers Marcus Tanaka and Nicky Archibald follow him out! Next up we've got seeker Taylor Flagg a new addition to the team and looking confident! Sawyer Kohn will be trying to stop those quaffles out of the hoops, especially after the end Hufflepuff had last year!" Chloe winced, Dom was holding nothing back, "And then we've got beaters Dylan Osteen and Chloe Yancy- who is a new and unsurprising addition to the Hufflepuff team."

Chloe flew out onto the pitch beside Dylan, they did a quick lap before taking their places. She could see Scorpius and Rose with a large banner changing colours saying "Go Chloe!", she knew that Albus would be with his brother since he had made the Gryffindor quidditch team as their new seeker. He was probably being forced to take notes. Chloe held her beaters bat tighter in her hand as she watched the bludgers be released and the game begin.

"Two broken fingers was totally worth it." Chloe laughed as she sat down on the bench in the locker room. She had broken her index and middle finger on her right hand but had also broken the spirit of the Slytherin team which she felt was worth the pain. It's not that she enjoyed seeing people suffer, but the Slytherin's had been so confident and egotistical in the first ten minutes a rage boiled inside Chloe that couldn't be settled until she wiped the smiles off their faces.

Her team mates were shocked by her attitude, they knew that she was serious about Quidditch but when she started sending bludgers flying at break neck speeds they were left speechless. Chloe knew a few of them were a little horrified that Chloe who was kind and polite turned into a ruthless bludger beating machine. Dylan thought it was great that the young girl (who despite her height and muscle looked innocent and easily broken) could so easily keep up, if not outshine him.

She grabbed her change of clothes and towel and headed for the showers to wash the sweat off.

"Chloe I knew you were good but... woah" Taylor spoke over the sound of running water as the girls washed in different stalls. The fourth year laughed awkwardly in response.

"That was some impressive work Yancy." Added Nicky from another stall.

"I've been playing my entire life it's too be expected." Chloe said after a few moments, "It's only because of my parents."

One of the showers turned off and Nicky's voice became clearer, "Don't be modest that was the kind of talent that only comes with hard work."

Chloe washed the last of the soap off her legs and turned her own shower off. She wrapped her towel around herself and exited the small stall, "Thanks, that's really kind of you to say."

Nicky simply smiled as she said, "I'm not saying it to be kind, I'm saying it because it's the truth."

"Well well well, if it isn't our resident snake beater." Rose laughed as Chloe joined her three friends at the end of the Ravenclaw dinner. There were no strict rules about seating during normal meals at Hogwarts, so the group normally sat wherever the first person to arrive was.

"How are your fingers?" Scorpius asked as he picked up a piece of bread to dip in his gravy.

Chloe shrugged, "Fine. Simple spell fixed them right up." She waggled her fingers in the air as if to further prove they were fine.

"James was shitting himself." Albus laughed, "He was all, _I didn't know she was that good. Did you know she was that good? Why didn't you tell me she was that good? _It was hilarious."

Rose laughed having heard this for the first time also, "He should be shitting himself, he's made fun of her for years and she's going to beat him to the ground in a couple weeks."

"Can we not talk about James _shitting _while I'm trying to eat please." Scorpius said putting his half eaten bread next to the leftover roasted chicken on his plate.

"Seriously Clo," Al said leaning over the table, "He was really worried."

Chloe smiled, she was glad that James was finally taking her as a serious threat, "I'm glad."

"When you stopped that bludger from hitting Marcus," Rose wrapped an arm around Chloe, "it was seconds from hitting him and BAM" the red head jumped slightly in her seat as she spoke, "it was headed towards Abigail Swan instead."

"If I make the team next year you're not allowed to do that to me." Scorpius half joked. All four friends wanted to play Quidditch but only Chloe and Albus had the opportunity to even try out for their desired places on their teams.

Albus shook his head, "Quidditch is Quidditch, no holding back." The others nodded their heads in general agreement. They all knew they were talking about Chloe. Al and Rose played seeker while Scorp played chaser, Chloe was the only one who was actively trying to stop the others from playing by knocking them off their brooms.

Changing the subject Chloe asked, "How many feet is our Herbology assignment supposed to be Scorp?"

"Only two feet." Scorpius answered taking a sip of his water.

Chloe smacked her hand against her head, "I can't do that, I know nothing about those dumb plants."

"I can help you out Clo," He replied, "and Longbottom won't let you mess it up, you'll be fine."

"Oi Potter!" Chloe shouted as she stood in the centre of the Quidditch pitch, "Get off your broom!"

He was doing fast laps, Chloe could hear his robes whipping as he flew behind her and then was in her eye sight again. "No way Yancy, I've still got this place for another ten!"

"You're team isn't even here!" She had spent the last ten minutes getting ready in the change rooms. It had been a long day for Chloe, she'd gotten a T on a Herbology essay, another T on a Transfiguration test and it was only Monday, so she'd wanted to get on her broom. Her plan was to fly until her lungs stung, she wanted to spin harder, dive faster and fly higher than she had before. James Sirius Potter was currently ruining that plan.

"No matter Gryffindor has the pitch booked 'till six." He was flying close to the hoops, dropped for a moment then sped up quickly throwing the quaffle hard into the left hoop. Turning and yelling out to her he said, "And it's only ten to six." He flew to the ground, scooping the quaffle off the grass and then flying high again.

Chloe huffed putting her hand on her hip. Then she mounted her broom, held her beaters stick firmly in her right hand and flew towards Potter who had his back to her throwing his quaffle in and out of the hoops. At this point he wasn't even training, he was simply mucking around so Chloe couldn't use the pitch.

She flew up in front of the hoops, blocking one of his shots with her bat, sending it flying back to him. Quaffles weren't supposed to be hit with bats but she didn't really care at the moment, if it got broken she could fix it with a simple spell.

James flew quickly to the side and grabbed it with both hands. They sat on their brooms a couple of meters away from each other, Chloe arched a simple eyebrow as if asking _You wanna keep trying to piss me off_? He made no motion to move, so Chloe asked, "A little birdy told me you were shitting yourself watching our game a couple weeks ago."

His face hardened in response, "Like I'd be scared by a group of little Hufflepuff's. Your win against Slytherin was a fluke."

"Well Slytherin beat Gryffindor last year, didn't they?" Chloe smirked, knowing she'd hit a button, "Surely if we were able to beat them we can beat you too." She flew closer to him, "When we play you in a few weeks you better watch out because if seeing one of my bludgers hit someone dead on doesn't convince you I'm good then maybe I'll just have to send one flying _your _way."

He only rolled his eyes in response before turning and flying towards the ground. "You won't win against us Yancy!" James yelled before walking into the Gryffindor change rooms.

Hufflepuff got smashed by Gryffindor. Chloe had her arm broken by Louis Weasly, it was a dumb mistake on her part but the game just went downhill from there. She never wanted to think of James Potter's gloating face again.

"And Dario scores!" Dom shouted into the microphone, the Hufflepuff crowd jumped to their feet. The Quidditch final was turning out to be a long but intense game. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were neck and neck whenever one team's chaser scored the other team had them tying again within five minutes. Both captains were screaming at their seekers to find the snitch but there was no such luck. "The captain of Hufflepuff is looking determined to beat out Gryffindor." Domonique said to the crowd as Jason sped past James, quaffle under his arm.

It was an unseasonably hot and sunny day, Chloe felt she was drowning in sweat. There was no breeze and the only way to cool down was to fly quickly through the heavy air although it didn't provide much relief.

Chloe was hitting mercilessly towards the Gryffindors. She'd hit a couple targets dead on but Louis Weasley was as good as she was when it came to protecting his team mates (he was not as good with his aim- making the incidents during the last game sting all the more). It had taken the team a lot of hard work to reach this point after they got thrashed by Gryffindor. They all agreed it was worth it and they wanted to prove they could beat Gryffindor but the game felt it was never going to end.

"Ouch!" Domonique announced, "That's gotta hurt! Hufflepuff beater Dylan Osteen is down folks! Couldn't move fast enough looks like he's taken a bludger to his right shoulder! His flying and probably beating skills have taken a serious hit because of it." Chloe looked over towards her fellow beater, he gave her a quick shake of his head and she knew was essentially on her own. Realising this is how Dylan must have felt when she was injured in there last match against Gryffindor she repositioned her bat in her hand and dove down to hit a bludger towards Lisa Sandlong who was currently flying alongside her captain James trying to reach the hoops.

"And they've spotted the snitch!" Chloe didn't move her eyes away from the bludgers and her task at hand, Dylan was trying as hard as his good but his left arm just wasn't anywhere near as strong as his right. She could hear Domonique shouting that Albus and Taylor were close, she turned her head for half a second and saw they were close to herself. When she turned back she saw two bludgers heading her way, one from her left the other from straight ahead.

She could hear Albus saying after her first game of the season, "Quidditch is Quidditch". While considering that there was no way to win without hitting Al at this moment, that she had a clear shot of him, that there was no way to hit one bludger without herself being hit by another and that Dylan was down, she made her decision.

Chloe hit the bludger coming towards her as hard she could towards Albus, then braced herself to be hit in the side by the other. It hit hard and sooner than she had anticipated. The bludger had just left the edge of her bat when she felt the other hit her arm. She felt it break her arm, push her off her broom and somehow clip the top of her head, knocking her out before she could hear the results of the game.

When she woke up she wasn't surrounded by her team mates, her friends or her parents who had been visiting to watch the Quidditch final. She wasn't even surrounded by her head of house and the school nurse. No, when Chloe Yancy woke up from the concussion she sustained by being hit by a bludger in the final moments of one of the closest Quidditch finals Hogwarts had seen in recent years the only person, other than herself in the small and corned off section of the Hospital Wing was James Sirius Potter.

He was standing at the end of her bed, covered in dirt and sweat, his arms crossed. Chloe sat up with a slight wince but she felt better than she thought she was going to, nothing hurt so much she couldn't move which she considered to be a good sign.

Meanwhile James made no motion to move, he was smirking widely and after a few moments he said "You are a far better beater than I thought you were," before he turned and left.

Chloe sat quietly thoroughly confused by the frankness of his comment. She almost swung her legs off the bed and followed him before Madame Switch, the current healer at Hogwarts, walked into the cornered off area. "You're awake!" She shuffled towards the girl, fluffing up the pillows behind her, "You weren't out for long which is a good sign for your recovery." Madame Switch was a loud woman, with a joyful spirit and a no-nonsense attitude. "I'll send your friends and parents in in a moment dear."

The young girl simply nodded and laid her head back onto the pillow taking a deep breath to deal with pain in her arm which was growing stronger the longer she was awake. Madame Switch shuffled out of the small area and within moments team mates and parents were pouring in.

"Chloe dear that was a very impressive job!" Her mother was the first to her side hugging her carefully, "You're skills are getting better by the day!" Her dad simply nodded along hugging her also. Their smiling faces made Chloe warm up inside.

Then she realised and moved her head quickly, "Taylor did you grab the snitch?"

A bitter sweet smile settled on Taylor's face, "Albus had it in his grasp right before the bludger hit him."

Chloe sighed and closed her eyes, "I'm sorry guys. I should've hit it harder, it would've hit him sooner."

Jason actually laughed, "You're joking right?"

Taylor nodded in aggrement, "It was my fault I should've gotten on the inside of Potter, I would've been able to reach it sooner."

"It wouldn't have been an issue if I hadn't let so many Quaffles in." Sawyer added.

Jason looked at each of them bewildered and smiled widely, "Guys this is one of the best teams Hufflepuff has had in years. That game was a long slog, the fact that it came down the snitch and that Taylor was so close shows how good we are. They'll never admit it but Gryffindor was struggling out there, they were seconds from breaking. We may not have won, but I couldn't be more proud of what we've achieved this year."

Madame Switch, drawn by the noise arrived and scolded them for all dragging their dirty brooms and muddy clothes into her clean hospital ward.

Chloe soon realised her fellow beater wasn't there nor was Al or any of her close friends for that matter.

"Dylan's fine he's just resting," Jason answered knowing her next question, "only a couple beds over I think."

"Al is okay as well," Chloe's dad rested a hand on her shoulder, "the bludger hit the end of his broom and he spun uncontrollably, he's just getting a few bruises he got from landing against the stands healed. Rose and Scorp are with him at the moment. They said they'd come see you once the opposition," he nodded towards her team mates, "were gone."

Chloe laughed, and turned towards her team, Taylor and Nicky were sitting on the edge of her bed. While the rest of her team stood close, Jason and Marcus were smiling widest glad to have finished their Quidditch at Hogwarts on what they believed to be a positive note.

After another fifteen minutes of laughing and enjoying each other's company in the wake of their loss of the Quidditch Cup the group left, promising to return once they'd showered and changed into their normal clothes.

For a few moments before Scorpius, Albus and Rose arrived Chloe was left alone with her parents. They had worked hard to find the time to make it to the match and were talking about how glad they were that they hadn't missed it.

Her mum sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, grabbing Chloe's hand, "Sweetheart, while your father and I are very proud of you and all that you've achieved." she paused for a moment, rubbing circles on the top of Chloe's hand with her thumb, "Just be more careful next time you scared the living daylights out of me."

Chloe laughed quietly as her dad spoke as well, "I'm starting to understand what my mother was always talking about when she went on and on about getting scared for me when I played professionally." Though she knew it wasn't the point of what they were saying Chloe smiled widely at the idea of being compared to her parent's professional career.

Before any more words could be exchanged amongst the Yancy family Scorp, Rose and Al arrived, all smiling widely and the latter limping slightly.

"You're okay!" Rose laughed hugging her tightly.

Looking towards Albus anxiously Chloe began to apologise. Al raised a hand, "Don't Chloe. Quidditch is Quidditch and as long as you didn't kill or seriously injure me I don't mind." She nodded knowing any ill-feelings he could have felt for her were not there.

Scorpius sat at the end of the bed, while Al and Rose perched themselves on either side of Chloe. After another hour Al's parents, Mr and Mrs Potter, said a brief goodbye and congratulated Albus again on his win. Chloe's parents left not long after and the four friends were left chatting until after dinner at which point Madame Switch made them all leave for bed.

The next time Chloe saw James was on the train ride back to nine and three-quarters.

"Come on 'puff I don't have all day." James snapped irritably as Chloe talk her time deciding what she wanted from the trolley.

She didn't look away from the chocolate frogs as she said, "James I don't know why you're so ticked off, you won." Making up her mind she passed the trolley lady her Sickles and turned to walk past James. He wouldn't move out of the way so she shoved past him.

"You're just scared of us getting you next year." She said, turning she smirked.

James eyes darkened in frustration, "Why are you all so happy about losing?" and Chloe turned back around, sashing back to her compartment.

A/N: Thanks for reading everyone. If you enjoyed it please let me know by reviewing, favourting or following the story.

xx


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